Voss to keep Cats guessing
CARLTON coach Michael Voss is keeping Jacob Weitering’s Geelong opponent on Saturday night a fiercely kept secret ahead of the club’s blockbuster clash at the MCG.
Weitering and the muchimproved Lewis Young will have the task of dulling the influence of the Cats’ champion key forward pairing of Jeremy Cameron and Tom Hawkins.
They have already kicked 89 goals between them to help lead Geelong to the top of the ladder.
The Blues’ reigning Coleman medallist Harry McKay already said this week the CameronHawkins combination was peerless in the competition.
But Voss was unwilling to share which of them Weitering will go to at the first bounce as the mind games begin for a match that could see Carlton climb inside the top four.
“I won’t be declaring any of that,” Voss said.
“We might save that as a surprise for the first couple of minutes of the game ... but clearly they’ll take their turns. The development of ‘Youngy’ has been significant for us.
“The fact he’s been able to step up and take those big forwards, or key forwards, has been really impressive, and he’s also shown some flexibility that he can play on different types.”
But Voss’ focus is on stopping more than just Cameron and
Hawkins, given the Cats’ rich vein of form, which includes them beating Melbourne last week.
“The challenge is really clear for us. Whenever you play against sides that sort of sit in that top echelon, they put stress on every part of your system,” he said.
Liam Stocker is back in the side and the Blues are backing midseason draftee Will Hayes to fill a wing role, dropping Lochie O’Brien to the VFL as they prepare to finetune their squad in the final six rounds.
Mitch McGovern and Marc Pittonet will return from extended injury absences at second-tier level, while Jack Martin and Matt Owies are yet to resume training but could be back playing next week.